Welcome to the Jungle
by Kosaten no Kokinatsuyosa
Summary: One monkey's escape into the jungle brought forth the greatest heroes the universe had ever seen.
1. The Last of Many

Chapter 1: The Last of Many

The Alchemist stood in the darkness of his laboratory, before a glowing stasis capsule, entranced by the creature it held within. It was so small, so frail, even the slightest of alterations to the fluids that protected and nourished the monkey infant inside would spell disaster. He had lost too many monkeys already. He was planning to move his laboratory to a new planet, one that was positioned at the center of one of the busiest intergalactic sectors. He looked away from the glowing tangerine pillar for a moment, to the star chart on the wall to his left. Planet SGZ-14873, Designation: Shuggazoom. It was said to be a small, peaceful place, with a single large city. But it was not the inhabited city the Alchemist was interested in. No, he was concerned with the regions _beyond_ the city. It was these regions that would be perfect for his experiments.

The planet he was currently on was an uninhabited jungle world, perfect for obtaining the simian specimens his experiments required, however, it had it's shortcomings as well. Many of his monkey prototypes had escaped the lab, and once they evaded the range of his tracking scanners, they were gone forever. His colleagues had suggested using special poisons to dispose of the primates if they happened to venture out of his control. He made excuses, saying that he dared not introduce a foreign toxin into such a delicate ecosystem, but the truth of the matter was that he simply didn't have the heart to kill them.

Tampering with their bodies and minds, all for the sake of universal peace, was horrendous enough. Once he relocated to this new planet, however, his experiments would no escape him quite so easily.

"You, little one," he said softly to the infant within the pillar," are the last of many, and yet, the start of a new beginning." the Alchemist lowered his head in regret. "It only dispirits me that you are the last I have captured." According to the information he had acquired on Shuggazoom's native flora and fauna, monkeys had evolved there, but excessive hunting many decades ago had made them virtually extinct, therefore, the chances of acquiring more primates was slim. However, if this one, this single monkey developed correctly, was not made imperfect by the modifications made to his body and mind, as all the others were, then he would be satisfied. He wanted more of them- his prototypes had always been created in sets of six, because it seemed to be the average size for a monkey troop on this planet. It was important to him that he tamper with the behavioral and social structure the primates had developed as little as possible.

The hum of a Planet to Ship Transport Vehicle, or PSTV, attracted his attention. He silently gathered the entire contents of his lab, and loaded it into the transport, saving the simian infant for last.

As the transport activated the autopilot, the Alchemist turned back, and took one last look at the jungle world that had been his home for many years now. In his private notes, he had given a designation to the jungle world: Prysimia. He wondered what would become of the prototypes he was leaving behind, whether they would overcome the afflictions he had unintentionally placed upon them, or they would simply perish, one by one.


	2. Primal Instinct

Chapter 2- Primal Instinct

It had been many months since the Alchemist had settled into his new lab on precious monkey, who he had named Mandarin because of his orange coat, had grown into a mischievous young adult. He was always getting into something, and due to his antics, the Alchemist had lost a good deal of supplies. He now had no choice but to enter into the city to get more.

"Mandarin, come here!" He called to the orange monkey. The simian came obediently, chattering softly. The Alchemist motioned silently to a small energy field enclosure, and Mandarin looked up at him with pleading coal-black eyes. " No, you cannot come, little one, lest I lose you in the city streets." He said, and Mandarin gave an unhappy Alchemist turned away, and journeyed off into the city.

Mandarin sniffed at the energy field that contained him. No scent. Experimentally he prodded it with the tip of his tail, and a electric shock coursed through his body, not enough to seriously hurt him, but it was a warning: don't touch. Mandarin looked around. Before the Alchemist had called to him, he had seen him touch a panel on the wall, and that was when the energy field had turned on. Looking around, Mandarin spotted a pipe lying on the ground nearby. He picked it up, and threw it in the direction of the switch. The pipe hit the panel, and the energy field deactivated. Mandarin cautiously stepped out of the enclosure area, and wandered down one of the many hallways, tracking the Alchemist's scent. He hesitated at the locked exit. Oh how much his wished it would open! He placed both hands on the door in desperation.

Suddenly, something strange began to happen. The orange monkeys body began to give off a strange green glow, and the door opened. The primate was immediately assaulted with a thousand different scents, new scents that he had never smelt before, grass and trees, and the damp smell of the jungle. Forgetting all about finding the Alchemist, the simian took off into the jungle.

Mandarin ran as fast as he could, reveling in his new freedom. He raced up one tree, leaped to another, and stopped near a large ravine. Curious, he peered over the edge. It was a long way down. Suddenly, he heard a new sound: the sound of another of his kind. Mandarin realized he was trespassing on this other ones territory.

A big, dark brown male emerged from the foliage, and dropped to the ground. A smaller black male, a golden female, and two light brown males followed behind him. The big male snarled at Mandarin threateningly. This strange newcomer, who smelled of strange things, was not welcome here. Mandarin snarled back. He wasn't about to be intimidated.

Suddenly, the big male launched himself at Mandarin, and the two went into a whirlwind of grappling, clawing, and biting. Mandarin wrapped his tail around the larger males neck and climbed on his back. The big male tried and tried, but he couldn't shake the younger male. He staggered toward the ravine, and a foot fell through empty space. Mandarin leaped off the bigger males back, pushing with his feet, and his opponent fell off the edge to his doom.

Mandarin turned to the others. The young black male approached him and all of them, one by one, showed submission. Defeating the other male had made Mandarin the leader of this troop. Mandarin then remembered the Alchemist. He would be angry that he had left, but darkness was rapidly approaching. The return to the lab would have to wait until the morning.


	3. Return

Chapter 3: Return

Mandarin awoke to the unfamiliar sounds of the forest, as dawn rose over the trees. The black male was already awake, sitting in the tree across the path from the one Mandarin and the others had slept in, watching the sunrise. The other two brown males were still asleep, one hanging upside-down by his tail, the other curled up into a ball. Suddenly, the forests' quiet was disrupted as a cacophony of screeching and howling fell upon the ears of any living thing nearby, as the golden female raced around the base of the tree the black one was sitting in, and then across the path again. The two brown males were startled from their sleep, one falling from the tree while the other looked about wildly, trying to locate the disturbance.

A strange new male, reddish in color, was chasing after the female, and Mandarin didn't like him. He had disturbed the female of his troop. The orange monkey screeched and snarled at the newcomer, but try as he might, the newcomer stood his ground. The two brown males looked at the red with mild interest, and slowly made their way toward him. Mandarin looked to the black monkey for help, but he seemed thoughtful, not aggressively against the new addition as Mandarin was.

Eventually, Mandarin gave up on repelling the newcomer, and he called harshly to the others, ordering them to follow him. They all fell into line behind him, and silently established a pecking order: the black male, followed by the gold female and then the brown males. The red male trailed behind them, not part of the main group, but not leaving the group entirely either.

Mandarin trekked his way back to the Alchemist's lab, up the trees and over the paths he ha traveled yesterday, following his own scent.

"Mandarin!" The orange monkey turned in the direction of the sound." Where have you been?"

There was his master, the Alchemist. The man ran toward him, and as he did so, the others who had come back with him, fell back, terrified by the sight of the human. Mandarin stopped, and turned back toward them, encouraging them forward.

"Well, well, it seems you've made a few friends during your foray into the jungle, have you, my little monkey? Come now little ones, I won't harm you." he coaxed and they gathered around him. The black one came very close, and looked up at him with deep, intelligent black eyes. For a moment, a green light sparkled within the inky darkness of those eyes. The Alchemist saw this. "Ah, you are a special one, like my Mandarin, aren't you?" He gathered them all up, and brought them inside, to name them, to teach them, and to love them as his own. One day he would have to make them into heroes, to save them from the one thing he could not protect them from, himself, but for now he was their protector.


End file.
